Charlevoix fires girls' basketball coach

CHARLEVOIX - Following three seasons on the bench with the Charlevoix Rayders girls' basketball team, coach Jim Parrish will no longer roam the sidelines following his termination earlier this month.

Parrish, who took over the head coaching position prior to the 2001 season, was fired at a school board meeting on Jan. 12. The board voted in favor of the decision.

"Jim (Parrish) did a great service for us in stepping up when we needed a coach a few years ago," Charlevoix athletic director Jim Kanine said. "We opened up that position and of the three people that interviewed, I felt he was the best candidate.

"He had a pretty good first season. We got into the (state) tournament, we got into the regionals, but after that there were some things following that season that we needed improvement on and needed to get the program headed in the direction we needed to go."

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In Parrish's first season, the Rayders won the Lake Michigan Conference title, finishing with a perfect 12-0 league and 16-6 overall record.

In 2002, the Rayders finished 11-11 overall, 8-4 league, and won a Class C district championship. In 2003, Parrish guided Charlevoix to a 13-10, 6-8 record.

"He brought a ton of good things to the table," Kanine said. "He was very comfortable where he was (before taking the coaching job) and he stepped up to the plate and finished his first season undefeated in the league. But following that season, the program wasn't moving in the direction we wanted to go."

Parrish, who also coached at various levels including the freshman and middle school at Charlevoix before taking the varsity job, said he was not surprised by the decision.

"I guess it's no big surprise that they were getting rid of me," Parrish said. "It was no big secret. I never fit the mold they were looking for in a head coach."

Kanine said coming into the 2003 season, there were areas of concern that had been highlighted as well as areas that Parrish worked very hard at and showed improvement.

The areas of concerns were supervision, team performance, leadership regarding players knowing their role on the team, and communication with players, staff, and parents, according to Kanine's girls' varsity basketball coaching recommendation.

"We were looking for more communication as the head coach of the program," Kanine said. "We wanted him to communicate with the coaching staff, the players and the parents and we wanted to see a cohesive team come out of that program and we did not see that."

Parrish said he and Kanine met on Dec. 5 for his post-season evaluation.

"After that meeting, he told me that he could see no reason for firing me, but he said the board could overrule him," Parrish said. "I thought Mr. Kanine gave me a very good evaluation and I've never perceived Mr. Kanine as the bad guy, but the fall guy.

"I have a lot of respect for Mr. Kanine and his family. My daughter (Lisa Greenier, who now coaches at East Jordan) had him as a teacher and she's modeled herself in the classroom after him. She really liked his teaching style and the professional way he handled himself."

In Kanine's evaluation, Parrish received proficient checks in many areas. However, concerns on practice organization, supervision and communication were addressed in a checklist form. In the narrative part of the evaluation, Parrish did receive praise for game preparation and team conditioning, however, practice organization and communication again were of concern.

"I had another coach come in a couple of times and help me with defensive drills and some other things," Parrish said. "I just thought it would be helpful for the girls to get another perspective on things, but eventually some school board members asked some of my players how practice was going and they told them other coaches were helping out.

"I just thought it would be nice to get another look from another coach and he seemed to motivate the girls pretty well."

Injuries also hurt the Rayders this season. At one point, Charlevoix was 10-1 and ranked No. 5 in the Class C Associated Press poll. However, following injuries to All-State center Grace Farrell and guard Jaime Pettis, the Rayders won just three of their final 12 games.

"I was told that I should have been able to overcome those injuries better," Parrish said. "We had a deep and talented team, but I couldn't replace an All-Stater with four other All-Staters."

Kanine mentioned in his letter to the extracurricular board in January that Parrish spent a great amount of time and effort working with the girls basketball program. Kanine also noted in his December evaluation Parrish showed strengths in areas of the game including knowledge, commitment and a general love of basketball.

"Jim Parrish is a very good basketball man," Kanine said. "His commitment was very good and he did us a great service in stepping up when we needed him. He's good for the kids, he supports all our programs and he's very supportive."